Tuesday, September 16, 2008

I guess I knew this would happen. I had wanted to start a food blog a long time ago, and when I found myself with a bit of free time this summer, it became a reality. The problem (if you can call it that) is that all but the tiniest bits of that free time are now a distant memory, and I have gone a bit too long without a new post.

And it's not only that I don't have time to blog, I actually don't have much time to cook! As you could probably imagine, this is hard for me. I've been grabbing raw fruits, veggies, hard boiled eggs, and more cashew butter sandwiches than any one person needs to eat in a lifetime. Despite the monotony, I suppose if there was ever a time to eat mostly raw fruits and veggies it's in September in Portland. The farmers markets are overflowing with late summer goods, my garden is finally producing a solid round of tomatoes, and all of the fruit trees in my neighborhood are full of fruit.

In short, I'm not suffering for lack of good food. However, call me picky, but a photo of an apple and a few pieces of bread does not a successful blog make. But don't think that this is the end of Lemonbasil. Oh, no, my parents love this blog far too much for me to pack it up (hi guys). I'm just going to be aiming for two blogs a week, and not feel stressed that I haven't kept up with the greats of the blog world. I still bake for my friends most weekends, and I can't go too long without experimenting with some new recipe. Who knows? Perhaps I'll become an expert in how to cook with fresh, local foods in under ten minutes. Top that, Rachel Ray.

Life is really sweet right now, it's just very busy. And you know what every busy person needs... more fresh, local, fruits and vegetables! Here's a delicious salad I made from roasted cylinder beets and lemon cucumbers I got at the farmers market, topped with a cumin vinaigrette (inspired by this recipe). On the side are the beet greens sauteed in olive oil and garlic, with some fresh whole milk yogurt. Yum. I wish I had taken a picture of my plate when I was done - the beets and yogurt left a beautiful pink swirl. I admit it, I may not have much time to cook these days, but I still play with my food!

Pretty photos! I am finally starting to warm up to the earthy charm of beets and am enjoying seeing how others use them. Portland is a great place for produce in late summer, early fall! Hang in there. It's your blog and should reflect you and your life. In my view, two posts a week is a nice pace.

This looks great. I'm still trying to warm up to beets. They're one of my husband's favorite foods, the other being cucumbers. I'll try serving this to him and see if the cumin helps me enjoy beets any more.

Hi Allison.Where do you get your beets??Anyway, just wanted to share some roots recipe of my own: (please do try at home :) sweet potato purée with very little plain potato (or red ones if you have them over there, carrots,onion, garlic, and.... YES, beets!take a fresh one and add it in the end. shred it real small, and mix it in. great colour. great flavour. great nutritional value. add salt and pepper as you like. I add a spoon of honey, some ginger and mix lemon in it, only in the last moment while serving.enjoy, and cook responsibly.

Hello! Are you hungry?

LEMONBASIL is an adventure in living and eating sustainably, creatively, and deliciously in Portland, Oregon. Here you'll find photos, recipes, reviews, and revelations from Allison Jones, a farmers' market junkie making a name for herself in this shining city - and taking the photos to prove it. Send questions, stories, and ideas to LemonbasilPDX at gmail dot com, follow me on Twitter @allisonejones, and check out my photography portfolio here.